After being found guilty of three counts of false accounting
A local pharmacist found guilty of fraud against the NHS was sentenced on 27 April 2007 and ordered to pay £3,000 in fines and £1,500 costs.
The Primary Care Trust became concerned about the number of smokers recorded as using the pharmacies stop smoking service, and alerted the NHS Counter Fraud Service.
Following an investigation Mr Anil Shah, pharmacist at Dearcare Pharmacy, Richmond Way, W14 was found guilty of three counts of false accounting at Blackfriars Crown Court on the 19th March 2007.
Mike Wood, Chief Executive of Hammersmith and Fulham Primary Care Trust, said “The sentencing brings this case to a conclusion, and I hope it makes it clear to the small minority of dishonest people willing to steal from the NHS that we will not tolerate it.
“In the run up to England going smokefree on 1st July hundreds of people in the NHS are working extremely hard to help people who want to quit smoking. An individual abusing the system for their personal gain is totally unacceptable.
“We work hard to make sure it is as difficult as possible for people to commit fraud against the NHS, but unfortunately there will always be some people willing to try. This prosecution shows we have good systems for detecting it and stamping it out. We will always push for the maximum penalties when fraud is committed, whether it is by NHS workers or patients.”
John Reynolds from the NHS Counter Fraud Service said “Anil Shah took advantage of patients’ good intentions to stop smoking, and the NHS who genuinely tried to help those people. Quite simply, he defrauded public money for personal gain.”
Failure to pay the fine within the next 6 months will lead to a 28 day prison sentence.
May 1, 2007